From
http://www.geocities.com/~sm0e/R-noorLata4.txt...
After the passing of Ghulam Haider, Noor Jehan was, in a way, temporarily
orphaned. The new front of music makers was still regrouping. She would star
in around 10 more movies between 1955 and 1963. I wonder if any of her
Pakistani movies of that age (PATEY KHAN, LAKHT-E-JIGAR, QAIDI, INTEZAAR,
NOORAN, CHHOO MANTAR, ANARKALI, PARDESAN, NEEND, KOEL, GHALIB, BAJI) made it
big. I have lost track of Noor Jehan's movies following 1963. Did she even do
any?
The Pakistani music scene of the '50s was dominated by the old stalwarts -
first Master Haider, and later, Rashid Attre, Chishti and Khurshid Anwar. The
research is still on, and it may take a couple of years to collect all this
data.
For now, I wll ramble on just a bit about Noor Jehan's post-Partition work.
Rashid Attre's classic song "
Mujh Se Pehli Si Mohabbat Mere Mehboob Na Maang"
is from QAIDI, a mid-'50s movie. To this day, I think of this song as
Noor Jehan's best. There is at least one other Rashid Attre song I remember,
another smashing classic. Set in a loose Bageshri framework, Noor Jehan sings:
Lat Uljhi Suljha Re Baalam, Main Na Lagaaongi Haath Re
Chaand Se Mukhde Ko Naagin Zulfen, Chaahe Dasein Saari Raat Re I will never tire of it.
Another master classicist was Khurshid Anwar, who did very few pre-Partition
movies for Bombay cinema (notable are NISHANA, an Ashok Kumar-Madhubala-Geeta
Bali starrer of 1950, and SINGAAR, and 1949 musical treat starring Madhubala
and Suraiyya). From the '50s, I recall 3 Noor Jehan songsby Khurshid Anwar, and
they are all cast in a classical mould. The Miyan Ki Todi rendition of "
Jis Din
Se Piya Dil Le Gaye, Dukh De Gaye" perhaps does not match up to our standards
of virus-free and domesticated classical singing, but it has its place. And
to top it, the Jaijaiwanti song "
Dil Ka Diya Jalaaya Toone" is a must-have.
And then in a style that almost completely describes the latter-day Noor Jehan,
she sings Khurshid Anwar's wonderful Tilak Shyam composition
Saagar Roye, Leheren Shor Machaayen,
Yaad Piya Ki Aaye, Naina Bhar AayeThere was also this nostalgic treat from G.A. Chishti's LAKHT-E-JIGAR ("
Chanda
Re Chanda Mere Daaman Ko Thaam Re"). Hazrat Chishti, in his pre-47 days was
a colleague of Pandit Amarnath, and for a while, had the charge of Khaiyyaam's
tutorship.
In a weak nostalic moment, Noor Jehan put in a half-song for Bombay. The time
was 1955. OP Nayyar, a giant personality then as he is now, was in trouble
with the music directors' association. The movie was MUSAFIRKHANA, and it
starred Shyama and Karan Diwan. For Rafi, the MUSAFIRKHANA duet
Jhoote Zamaane Bhar Ke,
Jadu Kaisa Daar Gaye Mo Pe, Neechi Nazar Kar Kemust have been a replay of the JUGNU dream all over again. In his own words,
he owed his first big popular break to JUGNU and its protagonists.
One wonders why Noor Jehan did that crazy thing, just a bit appearance. My
guess is the Panchholi connection. Mr. Dalsukh M. Panchholi who gave Noor Jehan
her first real movie also provided OP with his first full assignment in his
own AASMAAN, may have brought Noor Jehan over for one last time. For OP, it
came at a time when he needed all the support he could get. He would never
forget that gesture. Panchholi himself died in 1959, four years after what I
think was Noor Jehan's last Bombay song. He had just turned 50.
The '50s and early '60s of the Pakistan movie scene gave us a new breed of
musicians like Nazir Ali, Nazar Hussain, Mohammed Ali Mannu, Niaz Ahmed, Mohsin
Razaa, Salim Iqbal and on. They worshipped that voice and they still do. One
song I can never forget is (and I have no idea as to the composer):
Nighaahen Milaa Kar Badal Jaane Waale,
Mujhe Tujh Se Koi Shikaayat Nahin Hai Ye Duniya Badi Sangdil hai, Yahaan Par
Kisi Ko Kisi Se Mohabbat Nahin Hai
The lyrics of this song are catchy, apt and almost funny (although the song
does not mean to be). At one point, Noor Jehan says
Karoon Khud Main Fariyaad Apni Zubaan Se
Girein Toot Kar Bijliyaan Aasmaan Se
Main Ashqon Mein Saare Jahaan Ko Bahaa Doon,
Magar Mujh Ko Rone Ki Aadat Nahin Hai
And then there is the world of Noor Jehan's Punjabi songs. O what a treat
it is! I really do not know if these songs are from movies. But they are
a lot of fun. In one song, Noor Jehan sings:
Sannu Neher Waale Pul Te Bulaa Ke,
Te Kore Maahi Kitthe Reh Gayaa Saddi Akkaan Vichho Nindraan Udaa Ke
Te Kore Maahi Kitthe Reh Gayaa
And in other beautiful rendition in Madhyamaad Sarang, she says:
Ja ja We, Tainu Dil Ditta, De Ditta, Alla VaasteThe list goes on, but I will stop with two of my current favourites:
Seyoni Mera Maahi Mere Paag (Bhaag) Jagaawan Aa Gayaa
Mainu Heer Banaawan Aa Gayaa
and
Sun Vanjali Di Mithdi Taan Re,
Main Ta Ho Ho Gayi Qurbaan Re
Noor Jehan's musical output diminished after the mid-'60s. Some time in the
'80s and '90s, Pakistan Television ran a musical series called TARANNUM. I
believe Noor Jehan has recorded a few pieces of that serial. But other than
that, she has been in semi-retirement for a few years now.
The Mailika-E-Tarannum has released several ghazals on record in the last
30 years. The Indian recording industry is gradually bringing the gems over.
Perhaps some day I will write an addendum.
In the early '80s, upon invitation from Bombay's old fans, the melody queen
visited India for that grand concert where Lata met her long-time friend in
person. It had been a few years. People who attended the evening came back
with their eyes a bit teary from the experience.
In the mid '80s, our very own Asha Bhonsle took a turn from her usual R.D.
Burman fare, and decided to experiment with the ghazal for a while. Was it
the Khaiyyaam influence of Umrao Jaan? Just a guess. In any event, she
released 3 albums. One was a joint collection with A. Hariharan, the second
was with Ghulam Ali (Meeraj-E-Ghazal) and third one, titled KASHISH was a
triibute to Noor Jehan. In this collection, she sings some Noor Jehan originals.
I am tempted to suggest that Asha does really well in some songs. My
favourites from this album (as my favourites from the corresponding Noor Jehan
originals) are:
Nazar Hussain's
Gul Khile Chaand, Raat Yaad Aayi
Aap Ki Baat, Baat Yaad Aayiand Mohsin Razaa's
Neeyat-E-Shauq Bhar Na Jaaye Kahin
Tu Bhi Dil Se Utar Na Jaaye KahinEpilogue
--------
It is in the context of this album that I make my last point of this
dissertation. Noor Jehan�s originals were all rendered in the '60s and '70s.
And they all have a sense of pristine and raw quality about them. This is
a different Noor Jehan we hear from her days in Bombay. The Asha homage by
contrast is highly normalized, and I might suggest, tame.
I would hazard the suggestion that in 1947, Lata was trying to get close to
Noor Jehan's voice-control. In the next 20 years, the two movie industries
diverged in many ways, but one point is relevant here. Lata's trainers,
especially Anil Biswas and Khemchand Prakash, wanted a domesticated,
classicized, well-modulated voice that would never stray into savage territory.
I don't believe anyone put Noor Jehan through that kind of scrutiny in the
early '50s. She was the undisputable queen. They wouldn't dare tell her
what to do. On the other hand, Lata was the great rookie of 1948.
By the early '60s, the contrast was stark. In 1947, when Noor Jehan delighted
us with "Tum Bhi Bhula Do, Hum Bhi Bhula Dein" (JUGNU), it seemed as though
Lata's ideal singer was right there. But the germs of voice-demodulation were
present. They always are. In Lata's case, these were carefully checked and
almost clinically removed by master surgeons like Anil Biswas. It appears that
in Noor Jehan's case, the demodulation went unchecked, and grew almost wildly.
The musical handling of the words, the pronunciation, the control, and just
the overall delivery all too often added up to a certain raw-ness. Certainly
age had something to do with it. But there was also the environment.
In a Nazar Hussain-composed song from the '60s, Noor Jehan sings:
Kyoon Chhoda Tumne Saath Hamaara Jawaab Do
Khaamosh Kis Liye Ho, Khudaa-ra Jawaab Do As she throws her voice out, the lines almost start to sound like "Jawaab Dau",
and "Khaamaush Kis Liye Hau".
Perhaps this is a feature, not a bug. And perhaps it was a disservice to the
Indian audience committed by Surgeon General Anil Biswas and his distinguished
colleagues of the late '40s that forever rendered Lata (and Asha) incapable of
this pristine-ness. But what do I know? I grew up believing that the Lata
modulation was the best there was, and then I heard the latter-day Noor Jehan
BEFORE I heard the Noor Jehan of the '40s.
Maybe it was for the best. Lata and Asha have their place with their masters
and their proteges - as does Noor Jehan.